University service panel far from reality
2 min readPATNA: Even as the universities and colleges in the state have been facing acute dearth of teachers in different subjects for the last several years, the state government has adopted a lukewarm attitude towards constitution of the state level university service commission. A gazette notification on the Bihar State University Service Commission Act, 2017 was issued by the government nearly seven months back. However, the commission is yet to see the light of the day.
Academics said the new university service panel was constituted with the sole purpose of expediting the appointment of teachers against existing vacancies since the Bihar Public Service Commission was taking much time in making the appointments. But, strangely enough, BPSC is still continuing with the process of appointment at a snail’s pace.
Recruitment of teachers in the universities and colleges was done on the recommendations of the erstwhile Bihar State University (Constituent Colleges) Service Commission and the Bihar College Service Commission till 2007 when both these bodies were dissolved by chief minister following charges of nepotism and various other irregularities.
In 2013, the state government handed over the job of recruitment of assistant professors to BPSC which issued an advertisement in 2014 for appointment against 3,364 teaching vacancies in different subjects in all the universities. However, not even half the vacancies could be filled till date. Consequently, the inordinate delay in appointment irked the government and a decision to restore the state level university service panel was taken by the Nitish government.
As per the gazette notification, the new service commission will consist of a chairman and a maximum of six members. They shall be appointed by the state government for a period of three years. The age of superannuation for the chairman and members is 72 and 70, respectively. They shall be eligible for re-appointment after the expiry of the first term of three years.
According to the gazette, a person to be appointed to the post of chairman shall be a person working or retired from the equivalent post of the chief secretary of the state government or person working or retired from the equivalent post of secretary to government of India or shall be a person having experience of vice-chancellor of any university or an eminent academician.
Out of six members, minimum half of the members shall be university professor having at least five years’ experience as university professor and half of the members shall be working or retired officers of state government not below the rank of joint secretary or working or retired officers of equivalent rank of central government.
A delegation of the Patna University Teachers’ Association led by its president Randhir Kumar Singh met governor-cum-chancellor Satya Pal Malik recently and drew his attention towards the academic crisis owing to shortage of teachers. The governor had reportedly assured the delegation that the new university service commission would be constituted and made functional by the end of March.
Courtesy: TNN
